(1) Muhammad ibn Aslam ibn Tadrus al-Asadi, their client, kunya Abu al-Zubayr al-Makki. Ibn Maʿin, al-Nasaʾi, Ibn Saʿd and others deemed him trustworthy. Ibn Hibban listed him among the reliable narrators, remarking that those who criticized him were unfair. He died in 126 AH. See: Tahdhib al-Tahdhib 9:440-443, no. 727 M. (2) Codex A reads: “Narrated by Abu Dawud,” which is a copyist’s error. (3) The hadith was also recorded by Ibn Majah in the Book of the Establishment of Prayer, chapter “The imam was appointed only to be followed,” no. 1240 (1/393), in an abridged form similar to the versions of Muslim and Abu Dawud mentioned above. (4) Sulayman ibn Mihran al-Kahili, Abu Muhammad, universally known as al-Aʿmash, born 60 AH, was one of the reliable leading scholars. Ibn Saʿd said: “Al-Aʿmash was versed in Qurʾan, the laws of inheritance, and hadith,” and placed him in the fourth generation of Kufan scholars. He was declared trustworthy by Ibn Maʿin and Abu Hatim, and Abu Zurʿa called him an imam. He died in 148 AH. See: al-Tabaqat al-kubra of Ibn Saʿd 6:342; al-Jarh wa al-taʿdil 4:146-147, no. 630. (5) Talha ibn Nafiʿ al-Qurashi, their client, Meccan—some say from Wasit—narrated from Companions such as Abd Allah ibn Umar, Ibn Abbas, and Jabir. Ibn Hibban counted him among the reliable. Abu Bakr al-Bazzar said, “He is trustworthy in himself,” and Ahmad, al-Nasaʾi, and Ibn Adi held the same view. See: Tahdhib al-Tahdhib 5:26-27, no. 44 T. (6) The printed edition adds: “Abu Sufyan’s name is Talha ibn Nafiʿ al-Asadi,” whereas the other manuscripts and Sunan Abu Dawud give only the kunya, as adopted here.